Pack a cooler to stay cold all day
I’m a big fan of the food website thekitch.com. It’s much more than recipes. I like the tips and advice on practical things, from how to work in a tiny kitchen to the best way to slice lemons to how packing your summer cooler is an art form. Who knew?
I found out that it’s not just about what goes in the cooler, although that’s important, but also how you pack it all in there. It is true that I want to be able to reach a cold soda quickly while keeping my potato salad from getting waterlogged.
The website sought advice from Trisha Antonsen, the “Chief Cocktail Officer” at beverage delivery service Drizly. The Boston-based company knows a thing or two about keeping things cool.
Here is her five-step guide, abridged a bit, to packing a cooler that keeps everything nice and frosty, while still keeping a cold one close at hand.
1. Chill before you pack. If you want your provisions to stay colder longer, the key is to start with food and beverages that are already cold. So, stick what you can in the fridge.
Tip: If you’re packing water bottles, you can freeze them.
2. Build your base with beverages and ice. Create a layer of cans and bottles on the bottom of the cooler. Not only does this form a sturdy base for your perishables, but those beverages will also stay nice and chilly underneath everything.
3. Next, add your meats (and more ice). Burgers, hot dogs, and other grillables come next and — this is key — they should be packed in airtight, water-proof, reusable plastic zip baggies. In order to prevent spillage, you may want to consider double-bagging.
4. Divide and conquer. On one side of the cooler, place fragile items you don’t want to get squished, like pre-cut fruit, pre-made sandwiches, pasta salads, and desserts. On the other, add another layer of pre-chilled beer and drinks. These are your easy-access drinks, so you don’t have to dig through the entire cooler (and mess up your organization) before you’ve had a chance to warm up the grill.
5. Add more ice. No, more. Finish by pouring ice over the top and shaking gently to get the ice to settle into open space inside the cooler. Continue the process of pouring ice and shaking until the cooler is completely full.
You definitely want more than one bag of ice; probably three to five bags depending on the size of your cooler. Reducing the amount of airspace means a colder cooler, which means food that won’t spoil.
Blackberry season is here
Cobbler seems like the easiest recipe in which to use juicy blackberries. This dessert has a little flavor twist in it: shredded coconut, along with some chopped pecans.
Contact me at sboyle@bnd.com, 618-239-2664 and follow me on Twitter @BoyleSuzanne. Write to 120 S. Illinois St., P.O. Box 427, Belleville, IL 62222-0427.
Blackberry Cobbler
FILLING:
8 packages (6 ounces each) blackberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
2 tablespoons lime juice
Pinch of salt
TOPPING:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
Filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently stir together blackberries, sugar, tapioca flour, lime juice and salt in a large bowl until evenly blended. Evenly divide between 8 (8-ounce) ceramic ramekins.
Topping: Place flour, coconut, sugar, pecans, baking powder and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed to combine. Add butter and mix until there are no pieces larger than a pea. Add egg and mix until fully combined and dough starts to come together.
Remove 2 tablespoons dough, roll into a ball and flatten into a disk about 1/4-inch thick. Place on top of cobbler filling in ramekin. Repeat with remaining dough and ramekins. Place ramekins on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Bake cobblers 20 to 30 minutes or until tops are golden brown and filling is bubbling. Serves 8.
Driscoll’s
This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Pack a cooler to stay cold all day."